There are currently different devices achieved for acting in a relatively non-invasive manner inside the body of a living being. These devices comprise endoscopes and the related devices allowing a particular use, such as cystoscopes, bronchoscopes, gastroscopes, etc.
Usually, with this kind of devices, with which it is necessary to operate inside the body of a living being, especially a human, an endoscope having a flexible part provided with a steerable area equipped with a camera is used. The flexible part of the endoscope is introduced to reach the work area or the area wherein the operation has to be carried out, a tool is then introduced in a channel of the flexible part of the endoscope, this tool being used to proceed with the desired operation.
This kind of devices has a number of drawbacks. In particular, when the endoscope is reusable, it has to be sterilized in a particularly secure way in order to avoid any contamination from another patient. This sterilization is generally complex and requires much time and expensive material. Moreover, in order to have a sterilizable instrument, it is necessary to make it from materials designed for such sterilization operations. Such materials, as well as devices made in the same way, are usually relatively expensive.
Moreover, the fact of introducing a tool inside the endoscope channel involves a relatively large diameter of this channel. In practice, a channel having a minimum possible diameter is obviously being sought, so as to be the least unpleasant, painful or invasive for the patient.
There are also endoscopes, equipped at their flexible end, with tools intended to enable a determined operation. Such an endoscope is disclosed, for example in the patent application EP 2 123 225. This document refers to an endoscope comprising tools arranged at the flexible end of the endoscope. These tools are fixed. This might present different problems. In fact, the introduction of the endoscope in a patient to the work area may be made more difficult due the presence of these tools. Moreover, the tools are partially positioned in front of the camera. Thus, they can hide some areas to the camera, which is undesirable.
This invention intends to provide an endoscope avoiding the drawbacks of the prior art devices, in particular by carrying out an endoscopy apparatus allowing an effective and simple manipulation, with a minimum diameter of the flexible part.